"The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) explicitly include persons with disabilities in several of their targets and indicators, including in relation to full and productive employment and decent work." (ILO)
Employment rates of persons with disabilities vary widely across Europe. For example, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Italy perform relatively well, while Belgium, the Czech Republic, Norway and especially Hungary perform poorly. While these differences are not easy to explain, international research suggests that they are not only due to the situation and conditions in the labour market, the severity of the disability or the socio-demographic and economic profile of people with disabilities in the different countries. The explanation may well be found in the complex interplay of these different factors, as well as in the role of directly and indirectly related policies and initiatives at different levels that have been introduced to improve the employment rate of persons with disabilities.
Most European countries are shifting the focus from generous benefits (compensation) to activating and improving the integration of persons with disabilities. Although there is some convergence between European countries in terms of labour market policies for the integration of persons with disabilities, there are still major differences in the extent and speed at which these processes take place, as well as in the specific measures that determine these developments.
